MONTEREY, California - United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited
Asia last week as America's top diplomat, the first time in 50 years that a US
secretary of state chose Asia, instead of Europe or the Middle East, as their
first trip abroad.
Asia is rising, and so is its place on the US foreign policy agenda. Clinton's
visit came at a critical juncture as the Barack Obama administration charts a
new course for America's foreign policy even as it addresses the domestic
economic challenges.
Clinton's visit to a large measure reflected the Obama administration's
priorities and its new approach to international relations. America will
continue to strengthen its ties with allies
but will be more willing to listen. It will engage the Muslim world and restore
its image to win more friends and hence receive greater support for its
anti-terrorism efforts.
And the George W Bush administration's pragmatic management of China's rise
will continue - engaging Beijing where it can on a broad range of issues where
the two countries share common interests - and be candid where Washington has
particular concerns.
The US-Japan alliance remains the "cornerstone of security in East Asia" and
Clinton, in choosing Japan as her first stop on the Asia tour, reassured Tokyo
that Washington continues to value and emphasize the bilateral relationship in
a changing Asia. An indication of this gesture was the invitation to Japanese
Prime Minister Taro Aso to visit the United States.
Clinton's visit also sought to reassure Japan that Washington would seek more
consultation before adopting policies that could affect its allies. For
instance, the Bush administration's decision last year to remove North Korea
from the State Department list of state sponsors of terrorism caused great
concerns in Tokyo.
Better coordination with South Korea on the North Korea nuclear issue featured
prominently during Clinton's brief stay in Seoul, where she called on Pyongyang
to comply with the terms of the agreements reached at the six-party Talks on
the implementation of nuclear dismantlement by accepting strict verification
provisions.
With the appointment of Stephen Bosworth as the special envoy to North Korea,
the Obama administration has clearly indicated its desire to bring the issue to
a close. The question that remains is how to leverage the economic and
diplomatic resources in ways that would convince North Korea to return to the
negotiation table at a time when President Lee Myung-bak's conservative
government has hardened its policy toward the North.
By including Indonesia on her Asian itinerary, Clinton was sending a message of
not just symbolism - Obama spent four years living in that country - but also
one of substance and great significance. The new administration seeks to
restore its image in the wider Muslim world, while the United States also seeks
Indonesia's cooperation in the "war on terror". In turn, Washington will
support Southeast Asia's efforts in developing capacities to deal with
political, economic, social and human rights issues.
Clinton's visit to China and her remarks on Washington's Beijing policy were
the most closely monitored and carefully scrutinized of her entire Asia trip,
for at least three reasons. First is the significance of the Sino-US
relationship, which Clinton during the presidential campaigns characterized as
America's most important bilateral relationship.
Secondly, the Obama administration's top priorities are to address the economic
crises at home and abroad and this inevitably will bring China into the picture
with regard to its trade practices and Beijing's continued interest and
commitment in purchasing US debts.
Thirdly, Clinton has emphasized human rights as an important area of US foreign
policy and her remarks at the 1995 World Conference on Women held in Beijing
caused concern for her hosts but raised expectations in the human-rights
community whether she would pick fights with China over political and religious
freedoms.
However, Clinton adopted a pragmatic approach, to the relief of her Chinese
hosts and the disappointment of human-rights advocates. Without completely
dismissing as irrelevant important human-rights issues, Clinton went out of her
way to emphasize that the US and China share common interests in a range of
areas and should cooperate more closely to promote peace, security and
prosperity. These include climate change, the global economic crisis and the
North Korean nuclear issue.
US-China cooperation on clean energy and energy efficiency is an area where the
two countries, as the world's top two gas emitters, can really make a
difference to address the challenge of climate change.
But it was the economic and security challenges that topped her agenda in
China. Clinton pleaded with her Chinese hosts to continue purchasing US bonds,
of which China now holds close to US$700 billion, and suggested that a US able
to reverse and recover from its economic downturn would surely benefit China,
which depends on the US market as a major export destination.
Clinton managed to avoid the touchy issues of trade imbalances and currency
exchange rates during the trip. US trade deficits with China grew to an
all-time high of $266 billion in 2008 and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's
controversial charge of currency manipulation in China during his confirmation
hearings triggered strong responses from Beijing.
But these issues, along with market access and the protection of intellectual
property rights, could be brought back and significantly strain bilateral
economic ties as Chinese and American leaders face mounting pressures to
address domestic economic problems.
Beijing and Washington remain united in seeking ways to resolve the North
Korean nuclear issues through the six-party process. The Obama administration
has also demonstrated its willingness to directly engage Pyongyang if that
helps facilitate the implementation of the various agreements and action plans
reached at the multilateral negotiation forum.
Clinton's maiden trip to Asia has accomplished a number of goals. It sent out a
clear message that a rising Asia is very much at the top of Washington's
foreign policy agenda. It reassured America's allies that Washington seeks more
consultation on policies affecting their interests. It sought to restore
America's image in the Muslim world as a partner, not a domineering crusader.
And finally, it showed a level of pragmatism and continuity in its China policy
where mutual interests call for closer cooperation and where conflicts can and
should be managed to sustain and promote a viable working bilateral
relationship in the coming years. In terms of redefining and re-energizing the
US's ties with Asia, this has been a good start.
Dr Jing-dong Yuan is director of the East Asia Non-proliferation Program
at the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies, and an associate
professor of International Policy Studies at the Monterey Institute of
International Studies.
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